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The dominant religion in the UK, among the 50% of the population who are middle class graduates, is Middlebrow Humanism.

Its values are still more or less Christian — be nice.

Its twin pillars are faith in the NHS and the BBC.

The BBC is its central pulpit, particularly Radio 4.

Its priests are humanists like Stephen Fry, Brian Cox, Alice Roberts, Matt Haig, Simon Schama, AC Grayling, Alain de Botton, Ricky Gervais, Graham Norton, Neil MacGregor, Claire Balding and so on.

These priests may be vocal in their humanism, may produce texts like ‘The Little Book of Humanism’.

But really, humanism is so utterly the water we swim in, there’s no need to preach it.

Its festivals are BBC programmes like Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing, and the occasional sporting jamboree.

Middlebrow Humanism is the gospel of the status quo.

It is the faith that every year things are getting slightly better.

It is the religion of the civil servant, the bureaucrat, and it hates anything that threatens bureaucracy — budget cuts particularly.

It offers no grand solutions to life’s Big Questions. What Big Questions? Is it not in bad taste to ask such questions?

The idea of ‘self-transcendence’ seems incredibly distant from the cosy comforts of Middlebrow Humanism.

Jules Evans om hvordan de 7 moderne, mestendels virtuelle religioner klarer sig mod de gamle ⟲.

Life without God

The prospect of the death of God once filled people with terror. Yet it’s remarkable how little people notice His absence.